


budding

by Starling (StarDandere)



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: (late) v-day fic, F/F, F/M, Self-indulgent fluff, ft implied naekugiri, post-Tragedy but pre-DR1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 16:43:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9770867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarDandere/pseuds/Starling
Summary: a relationship is like a flower; it will grow with love and care





	

Valentine’s Day in their school shelter was quieter than one would expect from a group of teenagers. With only the sixteen of them - headmaster excluded - living in it for an indeterminate amount of time, life had become more or less routine. Mukuro didn’t mind so much; she had just wanted whatever Junko wanted when they locked themselves in, and in this situation the quiet was expected to come eventually. But even she felt off-put by the lack of celebration. They’d thrown together stuff for Christmas and New Years; had two months really dampened their spirits that much?

 

Venturing out of the cafeteria where she had expected to find a makeshift party of sorts, she felt unsure of how her day was supposed to progress from this point. She wanted to talk to Junko, but she was becoming busy as the date for their Mutual Killing game approached. A date that Mukuro was becoming less sure that she wanted to come, even though that was what Junko wanted. The closed environment had meant that Mukuro was forced to be in her classmates’ presence unless she wanted to be in her room most of the day, so she’d begun to get used to them. To even bond with them, even though she knew that with Junko’s plan that they would forget her anyway.

 

Getting to know them wasn’t bad, most of the time. She enjoyed some of their company a lot. Naegi and Kirigiri, for instance, were nice to be around. The former had always been someone Mukuro wanted to be close to; the latter, well, not so much, but now that Mukuro had gotten closer to her... She had to admit, Kirigiri wasn’t too bad. She was smart like Junko, just a lot quieter. It explained why her sister saw her as a threat.

 

Mukuro wandered the halls, lost in her thoughts. The first floor was empty, as it normally was. The school store, which had become a makeshift storage area for miscellaneous goods they received from their supplier, looked a bit emptier than normal. Maybe the others  _ had _ gotten stuff together to have their own celebrations? Her experience with the holiday were lacking; she had kept to herself and Junko too much during her school life. That thought made her frown. Junko should’ve been all that she needed, but thinking back on life before the Tragedy made her feel... weird. A sort of tight feeling in her chest.

 

She felt like this a lot lately, when she thought about her sister’s plans for their class.

 

She dug through the box of junk, trying to figure out what she should do. People gave stuff to their lovers? She didn’t have one, but a good friend worked too right? If she remembered correctly, Asahina had shared her chocolate with Oogami even though the martial artist apparently had a boyfriend. So a close friend would work. Junko would’ve been her first thought, if it had been before. But her thoughts instead skipped straight to the two she’d grown closest to, which made her pause. Life beyond her place at Junko’s side made Mukuro confused. She never knew how to handle dealing with other people because society had so many unspoken rules.

 

She came out with a budding potted plant that someone had shoved off into a corner. It was probably a recent addition, as it wasn’t wilted from the lack of care. It wasn’t healthy either, but there wasn’t room to complain. Whoever she gave it to would be able to salvage it. Hopefully.

 

But who was the question. One plant, two possible candidates. Naegi was an attractive choice because he would definitely accept it and she liked his smile, but she wasn’t sure if she could keep her composure while handing it over. That would be jumping straight into the “this is a confession of my feelings” that she wasn’t ready to admit she had for him. Not that she didn’t also hold some feelings for the detective as well, budding just like the plant in her hands.

 

She stared at it.

 

Symbolic things made good presents, right?

 

* * *

 

Mukuro ended up pacing in front of Kirigiri’s room, wondering if she should really give it to her today or wait. Her chest felt tight again, but she could identify it as nervousness. If Junko saw her she would surely tease her about it.  _ A merc who’s killed countless people can’t hand over a silly plant? How disappointing can you get?  _ Something like that. She never got nervous in or before combat though; everything just  _ happened _ .

 

This wasn’t war. This was a life where you would and had to face the person in front of you in the days to come. Everyone had grown to accept that in the almost year they had been in their shelter for. Arguments were petty at most and didn’t last long, especially when Makoto got wind of it. Mukuro always wondered why he put so much effort into playing mediator. She could still remember how hollow and scared he had looked when the Tragedy first started. But it hadn’t been just him, either. Almost everyone in their class had looked that way.

 

They were coping but not better. News from the outside was thin, slips of paper that the headmaster snatched up before anyone else could read it. Kirigiri had told the rest of them that she suspected the school’s old scout wrote them; apparently, he and the headmaster had been close. Mukuro knew things weren’t going to improve outside, even though Junko wasn’t out there. She had molded the upper class to wreck havoc while she was preparing the next step of her plan.

 

Her thoughts were straying.

 

She stopped herself, physically and mentally, and took a deep breath, knocking on Kirigiri’s door. Jumping into the fire was better than letting her thoughts run away from her and pacing where anyone could see her. The door opened soon after, showing who Mukuro was expecting to see, but apparently not who Kirigiri was, as her eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Ikusaba-san.” She held the door open enough to let Mukuro inside. She continued her greeting with a question once the door was closed again.  “What brings you here?”

She struggled to answer; her throat had clenched as soon as she had seen the detective, who had her hair mostly pulled up in a ponytail. It was a good look on her, not drastically different from her normal hairstyle, but when had she been so pretty to Mukuro?

 

“I, um, I saw this in the store,” she mumbled, holding the plant out, “I thought you’d like it?” She carefully lowered the pot into Kirigiri’s hands when they rose to receive it, trying not to pull back too fast when their hands touched. This... was pretty much exactly what she was worried would happen with Naegi, only he probably wouldn’t have noticed over his own nervousness. Why didn’t she think of that before?!

“Thank you.” She kept her answer short and to the point as always, placing it on her desk. She didn’t comment on its condition, but her brief touch to its leaves spoke her thoughts. “I have something for you too. I wasn’t expecting you to come to me, however.”

 

A present? For her? Her confusion must’ve been apparent on her face, as Kirigiri’s face twitched into a smile once she had turned back. And walked closer? What was she-

Chapped lips pressed against her cheek, and she would’ve flinched back in surprise if it weren’t for the hand firmly placed on her shoulder. This was not how she was expecting out of her gift, but she wasn’t complaining either. The brief contact felt  _ nice _ . A bubbly excited feeling pounded in her chest, one comparable to how good being acknowledged by Junko felt. But...

 

She wasn’t sure where Kirigiri’s interests lied, but she thought that if she had to choose  _ someone _ it would be Naegi (who seemed to like her too, there was nowhere for her between them?) So why was she the one getting kissed? As Kirigiri pulled back the  _ why? _ slipped from Mukuro’s lips before she could stop it.

“Why?” Kirigiri repeated, raising a brow. “I wanted to. I thought you felt similarly, am I wrong?”

“I don’t know?” She couldn’t think straight, let alone feel straight. “I think you’re pretty? And smart?” Her answer felt lame. “I enjoy your company more than most?” Not much better, but Kirigiri didn’t ask for clarification.

“I see.” Her eyes looked focused, as if she was searching for something in Mukuro’s expression. If her hair had been down, this felt like a moment where Kirigiri would casually brush it over her shoulder before turning and leaving. Except this was her room, so there wasn’t anywhere to leave to. So began an awkward silence, which was fortunately short-lived.

 

“Do you want to kiss me?” Was how Kirigiri broke it, asking her that with a straight face. It made her own feel hot in embarrassment, her insides churning from what felt like anticipation.

She wasn’t sure of the answer. But it didn’t sound bad. It was new, and Junko always liked new things so she should too? “Maybe?” She inched forward, trying to gather the nerves to lean forward. Kirigiri’s breath was warm on her face. ( _ hopefully hers didn’t smell bad, Junko always said it did _ )

 

A peck on the corner of her mouth was all Mukuro managed, muscles straining from how tense she was. It wasn’t like the excitement combat brought her, but it was invigorating nonetheless. She tried again, clumsily pushing her lips against Kirigiri’s. It felt like fire on her lips, warmth enveloping her as gloved hands cupped her face. Her own hands twitched at her side, uncertain where to go. The kiss didn’t last long enough for her to decide, as their lips broke contact and hovered apart. Kirigiri gently brushed a thumb over the cluster of freckles below her eye, a hint of a satisfied smile in her own eyes.

 

“What now?” Mukuro mumbled, the adrenaline waning and being replaced with confusion. “I’m, I mean, I just... I thought you liked Naegi-kun?” Everything felt like it was going too fast. She was just realizing she had feelings for both of them, while the two of them had been dancing around each other for some time now. Everyone including her could see that they were just delaying the inevitable.

“I do. But you do as well.” She states it so matter of factly that Mukuro flushing, wondering if she was really that easy to read. “Is that really a problem though?”

 

Was it? She supposed it wasn’t, if Kirigiri didn’t think it was. “I guess not.” She sat down on the bed, head spinning with thoughts. The bed dipping at her side and a hand intertwining with her own. It felt warm, comfortable. The tension in her shoulders fell away.

 

From this angle, the budding plant looked brighter.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to have this done yesterday but college got in the way. That's what I get for not getting inspiration for a Valentine's fic until the day of huh.
> 
> Anyway mukugiri is my otp and there's only like, 7 other fics with them. I guess if you want something you gotta create it yourself; someday I will flood the archive with my endless love for Mukuro.


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